McDermott’s game best ever against an MSU team?

Some late-night/morning-after thoughts from Creighton’s 74-52 victory (otherwise known as the Doug McDermott Show) over Missouri State on Friday night at JQH Arena.

- Point 1: Doug McDermott is really good. No. REALLY good. As in historically outstanding when talking about anyone to ever play against Missouri State.

McDermott’s 39 points against the Bears certainly is one of the best single-game performances against an MSU team. Harold Robertson of Lincoln scored 45, more than any opposing player against the Bears in 1976. It took him 36 field-goal attempts to get there. McDermott needed 19 shots. Think about that – 39 points on 19 shots. Crazy efficiency.

Other historic games against the Bears, in the Division I era, are Danny Manning’s 42 for Kansas in the second round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament in Atlanta. Bryant “Big Country” Reeves comes to mind. He had 33 as Oklahoma State escaped Hammons Student Center with a narrow victory in 1995.

I still have to rank Manning’s as No. 1. But McDermott is a close second.

McDermott is fun to watch – unless you’re going against him or I suspect part of a fan base cheering against him. He scored with a variety of shots – in the post, mid-range, from 3. He used his left hand and right hand. Spin moves. Cuts. Drop steps. Fadeaways.

“He was making fade-away threes off one foot and stuff like that,” MSU guard Anthony Downing said. “You can’t do nothing about that. It’s just God-given talent.”

The question now becomes, was this McDermott’s last trip to JQH Arena? NBA scouts from the Spurs, Jazz and Rockets were on hand to evaluate the 6-7 junior. I’m not sure how his game translates at the highest level. There’s a place for him on an NBA roster, certainly, but I’m unsure if he’s a lottery pick. And if he’s not, coming back for his senior season might be best for him – though not such good news for the rest of the Valley.

- Is Creighton the best team MSU has faced? “Easily,” Bears forward Keith Pickens said, comparing the Bluejays to top-25 opponents San Diego State and Oklahoma State from earlier this season.

“They have so many weapons,” Pickens said. “One of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country. They spread the court and they can get McDermott the ball when he needs it. Their shooters spread you and you can’t help out (defensively) off them.”

Creighton goes to Wichita State next Saturday. The Shockers’ 6-7 junior forward Cleanthony Early scored 39 earlier this week against Southern Illinois. Early and McDermott figure to guard each other. Get your popcorn ready, that ought to be fun to watch.

- Point 3: The loss shouldn’t diminish what’s been a good week – a good two weeks – for MSU.

Two weeks ago there was some doubt if the Bears would win three Valley games the entire conference season. They’ve done that already after a home-court split this week against two of the league’s three most-talented teams, Illinois State and Creighton.

Downing, asked if somebody had told him before the week began that the Bears would earn a split, admitted he would have taken it. “But I really wanted this one, though,” he said.

The upcoming MSU schedule is demanding. Road games await next week at Indiana State (clearly the league’s third-best team right now) and Bradley (the Valley’s most-improved team). Then it’s back home on Jan. 23 to face another top-25 team in Wichita State.

About MSU Sports Central

Lyndal Scranton and Erin Bolen cover MSU sports teams for the News-Leader. Get their perspective on university sports throughout the season. Join in by clicking to comment on any of the blog entries below.